Question
Hello,

I purchased a dwarf meyers lemon from my local nursery  last spring.(I am a novice gardner via being a first time homeowner.) When I bought it, it had fruit and leaves and was about 3 feet tall with a circular shape. I planted the tree in our desert soil next to a cinder block wall and it was doing well on drippers that were installed by my landscaper. The tree had grown about 6 inches by July of last year (2005).

I got a puppy (beagle) who loves to sample my trees by chewing on the branches. I dug it up last fall (around October) to plant in a pot. The pots size is about 14 inches in diameter and 14 inches tall(coned shaped). Also, it is a plastic planter imitating a terra cotta pot.

The tree was dormant all winter and started to grow purplish bulbs in december. Now these bulbs are flowering and smell great, just like the meyers lemons tht were on it when I bought it,but there are no leaves on this tree? What happend to the leaves that fell off in fall?

I'm also interested in planting a cherry tree. Any suggestions for the wife AKA the tree killer.


Answer
Maxine,
Most flowering fruit trees will put out their flowers before leafing out. I think that the delay that you are seeing in leaf out could be from shock. By digging up the tree in the fall, you severed many fine feeder roots that the tree depends on. Then, you plopped in in a pot that will be too small to hold it's root mass as it grows.
I would recommend that you fertilize the tree and do not transplant it any more until it recovers it's health.
As far as a cherry tree, I would recommend a Kwanzan Cherry. These japanese cherries have beautiful white or pink blooms in the spring. They do not produce fruit, however.If you are looking for fruit bearing cheries, check out the nature hills nursery website. They have two varieties that can be shipped directly to your home.
Good luck.
Ed Gulliksen